Report finds new model of care can improve quality, lower costs and increase physician ...( LI> Practice-level financial mod...),Health

Practice-level financial models described in the report show that by implementing the New Model of care in the current fee-for-service system of reimbursement, a typical five-physician practice could use the increases in productivity created by the New Model to expand the time spent with each patient or reduce their hours worked by 12 percent. Alternatively, those same family physicians could increase their total compensation by up to 26 percent by working the same number of hours as before.

"In larger numbers than ever, family physicians are saying they want exactly what patients want - to spend more time with patients and less time pushing paper," said Dr. Michael Fleming, a member of the task force charged with developing the report and board chair of the AAFP. "The good news is that the New Model of care, with its emphasis on electronic health records and advanced information systems, can make that wish a reality. When it comes down to it, the New Model of care allows doctors to become more efficient and more patient-centered."

Macroeconomic financial models indicate the New Model also has important implications for system-wide health care spending. According to the report, widespread implementation of the New Model, because of its renewed focus on primary care services, would likely result in a significant reduction in health care expenditures by all payers, including employers, government and individuals. Models suggest that if every American used a primary care physician as their usual source of care, health care costs would likely decrease by 5.6 percent, resulting in a national savings of $67 billion dollars per year, with a significant improvement in the quality of the health care provided.

"This analysis shows that the New Model of care is not only what patients want, but it is viable," said John Sheils, vice president of The Lewin Group. "The New Model has real potential to propel the U.S. health care system tow
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Contact: Angela Lower
alower@aafp.org
913-906-6253
American Academy of Family Physicians
2-Dec-2004